FINANCES

The foundation assets of Gebert Rüf Stiftung are managed in accordance with a regularly optimized investment strategy. The foundation’s activities cause yearly cash outflows of up to CHF 15 million, leading to a gradual depletion of its assets.

Using the principle of asset pooling, investments are made in passive, index-based funds which can charge lower fees because of their size. Compared with active management, this leads to lower fees and ensures that the return achieved is close to the market return. Active investments are used only if no suitable passive products are available in a particular investment category. An exception to this is the share portfolio at a separate custodian bank, which was obtained thanks to an endowment as well as the misson-based investment with the kickfund.

Foundation assets as at 31.12.2025 amounted to CHF 58.8 million, incl. donation Dr. Ursula Brunner. The assets are divided into the following investment categories: 40.1 % bonds, 40.4 % equities, 14 % private equity, 5.5 % Liquidity.

The return of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung portfolio is measured against that of a reference portfolio. The difference is known as the surplus yield. This may be positive or negative. The distributions are the grants disbursed in the current year.

The net return shown in the table below relates to the fund investment excluding private equity.

The annual portfolio costs incurred by Gebert Rüf Stiftung, including controlling and monitoring, currently amount to around 0.5 % of the foundation's assets per year.

Since it was first established, Gebert Rüf Stiftung has awarded a total of CHF 319 mio., of which CHF 292 mio. has been invested in direct project support. The grant volumes (supported projects) for the past three years were as follows:

The board of trustees is responsible for the management of the foundation’s assets. It has set up a finance committee to undertake this task. Investment is organized according to the principle of checks and balances; conflicts of interest are avoided by means of a clearly structured  value creation process. Gebert Rüf Stiftung is supported by the following partners in the area of finances:

• Investment concept/Portfolio Management: ECOFIN Portfolio Solutions AG, Zurich
• Fund management: UBS Asset Management Switzerland AG, Zurich
• Custodian banks: UBS Schweiz AG, Zurich; Rahn+Bodmer Co., Zurich
• Direct investment: Margebli JSC, Georgia (Private Equity); Kickfund Ventures Fund, Luxembourg
• Accounting: Bourcart Treuhand AG, Basel
• Auditors: Copartner Revision AG, Basel
• Supervisory authority: Swiss Federal Supervisory Board for Foundations, Berne